


What We Can Be, If You Let Us

by Romennim



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Established Relationship, M/M, Misunderstandings, Multi, POV First Person, Post-Canon, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-22
Updated: 2013-01-22
Packaged: 2017-11-26 11:47:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/650197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Romennim/pseuds/Romennim
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Near the end of the five-year mission, an unexpected request of transfer forces Kirk and Spock to confront the doctor about their relationship and their future together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What We Can Be, If You Let Us

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Italiano available: [Quello Che Possiamo Essere, Se Ce Lo Permetti](https://archiveofourown.org/works/650201) by [Romennim](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Romennim/pseuds/Romennim)



> Thanks to [](http://slightly-o.livejournal.com/profile)[**slightly_o**](http://slightly-o.livejournal.com/) and [](http://1lostone.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://1lostone.livejournal.com/)**1lostone**  for their amazing beta work and their advices. You gave me exactly what I needed for my first story. Any mistake that still exists is mine. :)
> 
> Author's note about the story: the idea for this one-shot popped into my mind as I was thinking about a plot for a more developed story about our favorite trio meeting the first time and their deepening relationship. So the story is more like a chapter taken from a longer story, than an actual indipendent piece.  
> Do not worry, then, if Spock appears more 'human' than what he should be: there's a reason and a whole story behind that :)

We are in the doctor's quarters.

The Captain is standing beside me, glaring at the doctor sitting behind his desk, while I, instead, am simply watching them, trying to understand how we came to this situation.

The atmosphere is heavy and, as the good doctor would say, could be cut with a knife. The psychic vibrations I sense from both of them are not pleasant: the Captain is radiating a deep hurt and anger, while the doctor seems just to be resigned. That itself surprised me, when I entered the room... It is unusual for the doctor to be so calm when he has to face such an emotional situation as this where there'll be surely a harsh confrontation.

“I want to know why, Bones. Right now.”

The Captain's voice is low and steady. At its most dangerous. That is the voice he uses just before ordering an attack against Klingons or when he wants to destroy someone who has endangered the ship and its crew. My human half shivers when it hears that voice, because I know what this man is capable of doing. And the doctor knows it, too; still he remains impassive.

I still do not know how to evaluate the doctor's actions of the day before and so I do not know if the Captain's reaction is exaggerated, but a part of me, a deeply human part of me, wants the doctor to explain and - I admit shamefully - to suffer both for what he is about to do and _wants_ to do to us.

“Bones,” the Captain stresses on. “That wasn't a question you can or cannot answer.”

At that, the doctor, who was absent-mindedly looking at some documents, looks up at us, though his focus is more on the Captain. His gaze is heated and the deep blue of his eyes is that of an ocean in a storm. From that it is easy to perceive that the Captain is not the only one angry in this room, even if the doctor has tried to camouflage it, and, if the situation were not so severe, I would sigh: the arguments that sometimes these two have are very taxing to my mental shields and my own emotional control. When they clash, they clash quite badly. That is another one of the doctor's vast array of colourful expressions, but one I adopted because it is the most suitable for situations like this, I must admit: when they quarrel, or I should say fight, over something personal, they just do not express the things they are not satisfied with and try to reach an understanding, they try, more often then not, to hurt each other. That has always puzzled me, since it started soon after we reached what the Captain has called 'our arrangement'. I did not think about that and its reason a lot in the past, thinking it was just their being both headstrong humans, but standing now here, sensing all this energy repressed, hidden, almost violent, I wonder if I should not have tried to look into it more seriously before.

It seems that the energy coming from both of them seems will collide very soon and the explosion is something whose outcome I cannot predict.

“Is that an order, _C_ _aptain_?”

The doctor's tone is barely controlled and there is just a bit of inflection on the title.  
The Captain seems momentarily taken back by the tone and he looks suddenly suspicious by the fact the doctor wants to take this discussion to a formal level. That indeed is not usually the doctor's style when dealing with any problem... It was also one of our major points of disagreement in the past: his tendency to put everything, every discussion, on a personal level.

From that I now know that the doctor wants to fight, since he would never use the Captain's title otherwise.

“If that is the only way to make you answer, Bones, then yes, it's an order.”

The anger seems to be momentarily deflated in the Captain's voice, his desire to understand overtaking the need of confrontation.  
The doctor looks at the Captain carefully and then gazes briefly at me. He looks again at his desk before speaking.

“I shouldn't remind you, Captain, that to file that request I didn't exactly need to inform you or the first officer.”

I do not need to look at the Captain to know this answer will have the only effect to inflame his anger again, so I decide to step in, to try to prevent an escalation in their argument.

“That is true, doctor, but that is the usual procedure, since Starfleet Headquarters will surely ask the Captain's opinion of you before granting you the request of transfer.”

Pronouncing a word should not make someone feel a painful squeeze around their own heart, still that is what happens.

The doctor's steely gaze fixes on me.

“That's true, Mr Spock, however since we're near the end of-”

“Stop it, Bones.”

The Captain's intervention cuts off the doctor. He will not be distracted from what he wants to know.

“You know I don't want to know that you could send the request even without telling me or Spock. I want to know why you sent the request in the first place, when we-”

“I can decide” now the doctor's voice is slowly rising “by myself what I want to do with my life, Captain, without the obligation to inform you or anybody else.”

“Stop calling me Captain, damn-it!” the Captain's voice is rising too. “You know I, 'we'...” he corrects himself looking briefly at me. “We didn't come here to ask you as your commanding officers, so stop pretending that's all we are.”

“Well, that is all you are.”

The doctor's gaze is steady, but after years of knowing and observing his behaviour I can detect the lie and the pain lurking in his eyes. The Captain, though, is too hurt by his comment to see something else beside that. In a flash of rare human insight on my part, I realize that the doctor is trying intentionally to make the Captain angry. I would say that is completely illogical, but in my experience the doctor has always a - shall we say 'human'? - logic behind his apparently illogical actions. Anyway for now this 'logic' totally escapes me.

“What?”

The Captain's voice is a mixture of anger, disbelief and pain. I force myself to concentrate on what the doctor is not actually telling and understand why he is doing all this, instead of the words he is saying. I do not want to take his words as facts. I do not want to believe he truly thinks what he is saying.

“What's the matter, Jim? I thought you would be happy I'm sparing you to deal with the problem.”

Now the Captain is looking flabbergasted and I admit I am at loss as well. First the transfer request, now this... What is the meaning of this?

The Captain is more humanly eloquent than me.

“What the hell are you talking about, Bones? What problem?”

The doctor looks at us intently, still sitting behind his desk, as if he is searching for something in our expressions, eyes, movements, and for the first time this evening I notice he does not look healthy: there are shadows under his eyes, his skin is quite pale and his hands are shaking slightly. Even if this probably stems from the situation at hand, it is worrisome all the same.  
Evidently he has been thinking about this for longer than the time he needed to file his request and he has not talked to me or the Captain at all.  
He licks his lips.

“Me, Jim, I'm talking about me.”

What do humans say in situations like this? Oh, yes: 'would wonders never cease?' That expression I think is the most suitable for this situation.  
The Captain is totally speechless and it is quite understandable. To tell the truth, when we decided to confront the doctor about the request and what that meant, we could not even imagine one reason for it, and for the way the doctor decided to act either. And now that the doctor is willing to reveal them, they are not becoming any clearer.

It is not Vulcan on my part, but I sense my patience is beginning to diminish, and that is probably due to the tiredness caused by the workload of the past few weeks and the stress that yesterday discovery put on me.  
I want a straightforward and clear answer.

“If you would clarify, doctor.”

The doctor laughs and the sound is not pleasant, but harsh and forced.

“Doctor...” he says. “You're calling me 'doctor' now, Spock. I really can't believe it.”

“Oh, please, Bones, you know how he is...” The Captain is trying to be conciliatory and I see how trying that is difficult for him, but it is quite clear this problem will not be easy to solve.

“Yeah, I know how he is, Captain, and I want both of you out of my quarters right now if you don't have a work-related matter to discuss with me.”

His tone is definitive and at his words I feel an unbearable squeeze around my heart, but if there is one thing I have learnt from them during our friendship and then during the deepening of our relationship is not to give up without fighting when there is something I want. And I am not about to lose the doctor, our third part, without fighting.

I look briefly at the Captain and I know he is thinking the same.

“I think, Leonard, that complying with your request is not possible for us.”

A look of sudden surprise passes on Leonard's face at hearing his name. He knows I use his name without prompting from him only when I need to have his attention immediately or when I need to discuss something important. And now it is obviously both.

“Well, Mr Spock, you'll have to find a way to comply because I don't want either of you here right now.”

He tries to sound firm and certain, but I can see something is eating him inside and has for some time. What has happened in the past few days that has led us to this?  
The Captain must have understood there's no way to make Leonard talk like this – there is no human being more stubborn than the doctor when he wants to be - and has decided for the only course of action that could take us to some answers... The one course of action that I rarely saw James Tiberius Kirk use: pleading.  
If that doesn't show Leonard how he is hurting Jim, then nothing can.

“Please, Bones... Talk to us.”

His voice is soft, almost broken. It is almost painful to hear him... Nothing can show more his vulnerability right now than those broken, softly-said words. To see this proud and confident man in this state...

A surge of pain and anger and confusion rushes through me: pain at seeing Jim suffer so much, anger at Leonard for having put us through this, at me for not understanding, and so, so much confusion.

But one thing is clear in all this: Leonard wants to leave, even if he does not look as if he really wants to.

Leonard must have understood what Jim's tone meant because he suddenly looks sad, even if resolute.

“Jim...” he says. “And Spock” he adds looking at me. “I know I have acted wrongly in sending that request without informing you, but I'm asking you to respect my wish and leave me alone.”

I obviously thought wrong. Jim's tone was not sufficient.  
Jim just looks at me, and the pain is clear to see in his eyes.  
As I have said before, I will not give up without a fight.

“As I said before, Leonard, that is not possible. As far as I am concerned, but I think Jim thinks so too, I will not step out of here without an answer.”

Jim smiles softly at me and I nods almost imperceptibility towards him and the little widening of his smile tells me he has understood what I am communicating him: he is not alone in this and we will fight together for Leonard.  
This ease in communication and understanding has always been one of the strongest point in our growing relationship, during duty and then in our personal time.  
As for Leonard and I, communication between us has been something we had to work on... At first we were just too different, too alien to one another to communicate without misunderstanding. It has always been a challenge... A challenge that has fascinated both Leonard and me, the first field where we have learnt to know each other without everyone else involved. That has been the beginning of our relationship, first silent and mutual respect, then tumultuous friendship, and now...  
And as far as Jim and Leonard are concerned, I have noticed since the beginning of our mission, when we first met each other, the instant bond between the two humans. They have been able to relate to each other almost immediately, needing an easy camaraderie that they found surprisingly with each other and, learning to know each other, also their friendship had grown steadily, Leonard giving Jim that support that sometimes he craved because of his command and that only a human could give.

Both Jim and I know we cannot let Leonard go. He is simply necessary to us.  
I begin to wonder if he knows that.

Gazing at Leonard, I notice his face has darkened in seeing our silent communication and if possible he seems more troubled than before.  
Before I can ask him, he suddenly throws a fist on the desk.

“Why are you doing this to me?” he asks harshly. “Why don't you just leave me alone?”

A pause, but it just increases the crescendo.

“Why the hell aren't you just happy that I leave the scene so you can live in your little cloud of love, damn-it!”

He stops and in the sudden, stunned, frozen silence that follows his words his breath is harsh, almost deafening.

To say I'm surprised would be an understatement.

But suddenly the pieces begin to fall into places and I begin to realize what Leonard's problem might be. Might be because humans are really unpredictable – and this human most of all – and I'd need more data to be sure.  
Jim is speechless too, but he always had a more direct way to talk and ask than me.

“W-what...” he falters. A deep breath. “Are you out of your mind??”

Another pause. “Because that is the only sane and logical explanation to what you just said!”

“Oh, please, Jim!” Leonard exclaims. “It's plain to see for whoever just wants to look!”

Their voices are slowly rising again. Their emotions are getting stronger and consequently their psychic vibrations as well. This roller-coaster, added to my own uncertainty about the entire situation, is becoming very taxing.

“What, Bones, what is so plain to see!!”

“That you and the damn hobgoblin are in love with each other!”

Silence again.  
Yes, wonders will never cease, it seems.  
I clear my throat.

“Excuse-me, Leonard, but even if that was true, what would be the problem in that? And in which way would that be connected to your request?”

Leonard looks at me strangely.

“Are you kidding me, Spock? Because if that is what you're doing, it's not even remotely funny!”

I look at him very seriously.

“No, Leonard, I'm not kidding you.”

“Then what-”

Jim cuts him off.

“Would you just, please, please, give us a straightforward answer, Bones, for God's sake!”

“Straightforward answer, Jim? I thought it was quite obvious, what you wanted! I'm taking myself off the picture so you two can live happily ever after.”

And that was exactly was I was suspecting. I should have seen it coming.

“You can't seriously mean what you're saying...” Jim trails off quietly, his tone full of disbelief.

Leonard snorts. “I'm serious, Jim. And, even if you changed your mind, I mean, even if you both changed your mind, I expected more consideration from both of you! I...”

He pauses, swallowing heavily.

“I... I expected my friends would tell me the truth, even if it were painful for me.”

If before it were not clear, now it is clear as a day. He thinks we do not want him anymore.  
I would like to curse, to just for once indulge myself in a human display, because we should have known.  
Leonard's insecurities have always been easy to see for Jim and me and they are not surprising considering his history with his ex-wife and his divorce. Being belittled and betrayed in every possible way leave scars that cannot go away with just words and reassurances and friendship.  
Jim told me once we would have problems with Leonard's past sooner or later and now we have the proof he was right.  
But I do not understand why all of this has come out now and how to handle this whole situation.  
I do not know where to begin.

“You are saying, Leonard, that you believe that Jim and I love each other and you want to transfer to let us live our relationship freely without giving us the trouble to tell you we want to be together alone, without you? Is that what you are saying?”

Leonard just nods, not looking at either of us.

I look at Jim for advice, because I've never been good in emotional reassurance. I feel at loss, and very inadequate: I have always known that it would not be easy to maintain a relationship with a human, with all their emotional needs, but with two, with the balance that is needed to be kept with two, it is so much harder. And now that I have clearly done something wrong - I still do not know what since I was totally unaware of it and is not that telling of my ability of maintaining a relationship with two highly emotional beings? -, I feel extremely inadequate.  
Jim is looking troubled and confused as well, but he is the best suited for now to deal with the situation. And he knows that just denying what Leonard is saying is not enough to convince him.

“Why do you think that, Bones?”

Leonard is still not looking at us when he answers. I am surprised he acquiesces without a fight... I expected he would tell us again to leave him alone.

“You have spent all of your time together recently, always you two... And... And it's really easy to see you two love each other. So I thought that...” deep intake of breath. “That you have finally decided that I was not included any more, that you were happy with just being the two of you. After all, I'm just...”

Here he stops and the pain is clear to see on his face. Pain blossoms in me at seeing it. This human, so dear to me, is suffering because of me or, at least, a false conception of me.

But Jim wants to hear everything because he knows we have to know everything in order to deal with all of Leonard's problems.

“You're just what, Bones?”

The pain turns into anger in an instant.

“Why do you want me to say it aloud, Jim? It's not enough what I am doing?? Do you want me to say it? Okay! Why would anyone want me, an old doctor, full of problems and just good for his job?” A little pause, the tone more subdued. “It's not hard to understand why even my best friends do not want me around. I just wanted them to have the courage to tell it to my face.”

So he thinks he is unworthy of us and that we have betrayed him. It is not a surprise he has asked the transfer now. I am almost surprised he is still willing to talk to us of such personal matters.

“Leonard, your opinion on the situation is incorrect...”

“Oh, please, Spock, all this time...”

As very few times before, I cut him off before he can finish the sentence.

“Because your evaluation of the situation is inaccurate.”

“What?”

Jim is looking at me, smiling softly... I know he likes when I speak so detachedly and logically to Leonard even when we are talking of personal matters.  
Leonard just awaits my answer.

“While it's true that the Captain” and I stress the title “and I have spent almost all of our free time together this past weeks, it was not due to a sudden revelation of romantic interest.”

Leonard just looks at me intently and is a little surprised, maybe due to my being so direct in talking about our personal situation and feelings. Even though I improved in that aspect, it is still difficult for me to voice my personal needs and thoughts.  
I see, however, that he is still unconvinced.

“And, Bones, if you remember correctly, we did invite you to join sometimes.”

Leonard looks sharply at Jim.

“But that was for the evaluation of-”

“Exactly!” says Jim, and he suddenly looks victorious.

“You mean...” Leonard is the one to seem dumbfounded now.

“Leonard” I interject. “What you perceived as rejection on our part I think it is just a misunderstanding. The mission is coming to an end in a few months. The Captain and I needed to write and send all the evaluations of the crew, control all the reports of the senior crew and write reports and put every laboratory and every department in order for the future debriefing we'll have once we arrive on Earth. As you can imagine, it has been a long work, which is not finished yet, I must add, a work we had to do alone. In the times we could invite you, you refused because you were overburdened with your own work. And then when we were almost free again, that epidemic of Arcadian flu has affected the ship and you spent all of your time trying to find a more effective vaccine.”

I pause a moment to give Leonard time to absorb everything I said.

“So it is easy to understand why we were all unable to spend time together, and why Jim and I spent a lot of time alone.”

Leonard just looks at us. He does not seem totally convinced.

“That's true, Bones” intervenes Jim. “It has just been a coincidence...”

“So” I interject smoothly. “There is no reason for you to believe that what we wanted has changed since we last spoke of it.”

That, in truth, we did not really speak of it maybe is another problem added to Leonard's more personal problems with relationships. And maybe it is better if we address this problem now.

“But last time...” begins Leonard.

Jim must have come to my own conclusion.

“Bones” he says calmly. “I know that when we finally talked, it was a very vague and uncertain talk... But mostly because I, personally, wasn't sure this would work out. You know how I am regarding relationships and commitments... That I decided to recognize what there was between us was a big step for me and I wasn't sure to be ready to take any more steps than that. But...”

He swallows quite heavily. Even though he is human, talking about what he feels has never been easy for him.  
He seems to gather his strength to go on.

“But my feelings, what I said I felt for you, both of you, is true, and that hasn't changed. Not even one bit.”

There is a pregnant silence after his words, during which I let myself feel all the love I feel for him. When he speaks of his feelings, it is always a treasure for me.  
But it is my turn now to reassure Leonard. And Jim.

“That is the same for me, Leonard. What I feel for you and Jim has not changed.”

Leonard smiles a little at that.

“Feelings, Spock? I thought Vulcans don't have feelings.”

I let myself smiles a little.

“It's illogical to deny what is, doctor.”

Leonard laughs at that, a true laugh, that is very pleasing to hear.  
As soon as Leonard stops, though, Jim reiterates the issue that has begun this conversation..

“So, now that we have cleared out our misunderstanding, will you, please, withdraw your request?”

“No.”

That answer shocks us both.

“Why?” Jim almost cries.

Leonard drops his gaze again.

“The fact that you both feel something for me...”

“Love, Bones, love, not 'something'!” interrupts Jim.

Leonard swallows.

“Well, the fact that you feel... That you feel 'love' for me doesn't mean this will work out.”

A pause.

“On the contrary, I don't think it will, if I remain.”

Jim is again speechless and I am not far behind.

“Leonard, if you think so because you believe you do not deserve happiness, that...”

He cuts me off, speaking harshly.

“Yeah, I don't think I deserve it and I think eventually I'll ruin everything, for a reason or another, but there's one reason that tells me I can't even continue this right now, Okay?”

Jim has found words again.

“What are you blabbing about now?”

“Just to know, Jim, how much do you know about Vulcans?”

The question confuses Jim even more and I too cannot understand where this is going.  
Jim looks questioningly at me, but he understands I do not know what Leonard means either.

“What are you talking about?”

Leonard just shakes his head.

“I can't believe this..." he mutters in a almost inaudible voice.

Then, more clearly: "What I mean, Jim, is: what do you know about Vulcans and sex?”

I suddenly stiffen, understanding now where Leonard is going with his line of questioning.  
Jim notices my reaction and is confused.  
He is suddenly uncertain.

“Well, they have a mating cycle...”

“Yes, yes, Pon Farr, but beyond that? What do you know about the act itself? Or about what they need sexually?”

If this conversation had happened just a year ago, I would have left the room by now.  
But now I know this is important and that the matter cannot be delayed indefinitely. I had just thought it would not be brought up now.

“They...” here Jim falters, because he does not know.

“Exactly as I thought.” Leonard says, a bit defeated. “You have jumped into this situation without knowing... Well, I know. And I know I probably won't be able to face it.”

Jim is as confused as ever. He turns toward me.

“What don't I know, Spock?”

I hear a hint of accusation in his voice now. Maybe I delayed too much in informing them.  
I swallow.

“I think Leonard is referring to the meld... Mental contact is a vital part of Vulcan intimacy.”

“What...” Jim is still confused, but I almost sense the anger growing. “Why didn't you ever mention it before?”

“I...”

I really do not know what to tell him now. There are many answers to that. I settle for the most important.

“I knew what Leonard's opinion was regarding mental contact. I thought that we would have dealt with the matter as needed.”

The answer seems to calm him down a little.

“Just how important is the meld?”

I do not want to answer that. It feels like a condemnation to death if I respond.

“Without it, Vulcans are unable to achieve completion.”

My words hung heavily in the room and for the first time I feel alienated from both of them. That is the real first time when my alien nature really expresses itself. Not even Pon Farr has been so devastating.

“Oh, shit”

Jim suddenly turns away from both of us and I feel his conflicted emotions as if I were touching him.  
There is sorrow, anger, pain and a sense of finality that makes him feel helpless. He does not know how to deal with that.  
Leonard is looking at him helplessly as well.  
And I can only feel anger at myself for being the cause of so much pain and, especially, at being the cause of the probable end of our relationship.  
If that has ever been a reason to hate myself for being Vulcan, that is. Because in that I am totally Vulcan, as for the Pon Farr. The only thing where I should, would have liked, would need, to be more human, I am too Vulcan.

Suddenly Jim spins around and his expression is serious and hopeful again. I feel a sudden need to believe that, as in the past, he has found a way to solve our problems.

“What?” Leonard asks, a bit suspiciously.

“Bones, are you willing to try to solve those issues you have regarding mental contact?”

Leonard is taken aback.

“I... Yeah, I think so. But, Jim, you know that it's possible that I won't be able to do it, right?”

Jim just moves one arm dismissively through the air.

“It's illogical to end everything at the remote possibility of the happening of one event, is it not, Mr Spock?” he says, smiling at me.

“Indeed it is, Captain.”

I let myself smile a little.

“Wait, wait just a god-damn minute, you two!” Leonard says.

Jim and I both return our attention to him.

“What, Bones?”

Leonard looks exasperated.

“Jim, you can't think like this. If I go to therapy or I do something else for this, it could be years before I'll be able to do a meld. Years. You know what that means for us, for you, for Spock? And I don't want to be around you two when you do things I can't. It would be too...” he clears his throat. “Too painful to bear.”

Jim looks seriously at Leonard and his expression is one of pure determination.

“Bones, waiting is not a problem for me. Hell! It hasn't been in the past months, I don't know why it should be now.”

Leonard seems to want to interrupt, but Jim goes on.

“It's stupid, and illogical, to act as this is a problem even if for now it isn't. Give me, us, a little credit. Sex is important to me, I won't deny it, but this is more important. If, for a chance to success, I need to wait, I'll wait. Is that enough to convince you?”

Leonard is frozen into place and it is understandable. If the words of before have not convinced him of the truth of Jim's feelings, those words surely have.  
But Jim's reassurances are not the only ones needed.  
Leonard gazes at me.

“And you, Spock? What do you think?”

There are not difficulties on my part at answering.

“I am willing to wait since physical intimacy is not something I need from you. What I need is for things to go on as before.”

That was another important emotional declaration on my part and both humans seems to understand it since they are looking at me smiling softly.

Yes, I know I have changed a lot.

But Leonard has one more question.

“What about Pon Farr?”

“We will cross that bridge when we come to it.”  
I respond and my use of a human expression makes them smile even more.  
“After all” I add for good measure “it is still years away.”

Suddenly, there is too much space among us and the desk Leonard is sitting behind seems to be an unbearable barrier.  
Jim and I move almost at the same time.  
Leonard stands up and walks around the table.  
Suddenly he is in my arms, hugging me tightly, with his head resting in the crook formed by my neck and my shoulder. Jim steps behind him and slid his arms around Leonard's waist, resting his chin on Leonard's head. He looks at me and a quick message passes between us.  
For now all is well, but we have still a lot of road to cover.  
The challenge does not worry me at all and Jim's soft smile and Leonard's arms tightly hugging me are all I need to feel confidence for the future. 

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on May 11th, 2010


End file.
